[OSM-talk] mapping while hiking
Mike Collinson
mike at ayeltd.biz
Sat Apr 26 14:17:04 BST 2008
At 04:13 AM 26/04/2008, Charles Basenga Kiyanda wrote:
>This is slightly off-topic, but does anyone have a trick to deal with
>the gps when tagging while hiking trails? I carry a garmin etrex legend
>Cx (unfortunately not the H version) and I find that it has to be
>"looking" directly up and flat to get best reception. Especially around
>here with often good tree cover and canyons. I'm just wondering if other
>hikers have found something to remedy that problem. I'm always using
>hiking poles when on the trail, so I was thinking about something that
>would look like an arm-band mounted pouch that I could strap to one of
>my forearm, since they stay pretty level constantly during the hike.
>Maybe a backpack mounted option? I'm fishing for ideas here. I've tried
>every possible permutation of having the gps stick out of one of my
>pockets on pants(trousers)/coat/etc to no avail. Just for reference, I'm
>in the southwest USA and my main source of hiking gear is REI and Amazon.
I noticed that I got much better tracks on a bicycle than walking, even in similar conditions and speeds. After some experimentation, the reason seems to be that a GPS device likes to be kept relatively stable and not shaken or twisted around. The best place I've found on the human body is to use a day sack or rucksack with a central top pocket, i.e. centre upper torso with best view of sky. Hips and arms move too much.
A rucksack strap should give similar results as other respondents suggest. Like Andy, I also tried under or on the brim of an Australian stockman's hat but I found that I move my head around too much, and also even the small weight gives me a headache after a while.
Good hiking!
Mike
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